Strikers clinch playoffs with 1-1 draw

September 8, 2012|By Dave Brousseau, Sun Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE — As the regular season draws toward its completion, the playoff clock ticks louder for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Coach Daryl Shore made that clear preparing for Saturday's final home game of the season against the Puerto Rico Islanders. It wasn't the dramatic finish to the three-game homestand the Strikers had hoped for, but the end result was good enough.

Needing a win or a tie to qualify for the playoffs, the Strikers settled for a 1-1 draw with the Islanders before a crowd of 4,704 at Lockhart Stadium.

"We are excited to be in the playoffs," Shore said. "We gave them a gift in the first minutes, and after that we were pretty good. We just didn't do enough in the box to create enough chances to finish."

Wellington "Pecka" Paeckart scored his first goal of the season for the Strikers in the ninth minute, making the score 1-1. It was needed after Fort Lauderdale fell behind just three minutes after the opening kickoff.

Islanders forward Nick Addlery caught Strikers keeper Matt Glaeser napping, taking a shot from 35 yards out and putting it just inside the left post for a 1-0 lead.

The Strikers (9-9-8, 35 points) qualified for at least the sixth spot in the playoffs, because neither FC Edmonton nor Atlanta can catch the Strikers' point total. The Strikers finish on the road against Edmonton and Atlanta, and still have a chance to qualify for a home game in the first round of the playoffs on Sept. 29.

They did have their chances at times, with probably the best coming late in the second half when forward Andy Herron got deep into the box and appeared to be pulled down by his jersey by an Islanders defender. No call was made by referee Ellie Aguilar.

"It was a hundred percent a penalty, but that's all I can say about that," Shore said. "I'm not allowed to talk about the referees anymore. I was warned not to, so in my opinion it was 100-percent a penalty."

Herron agreed with his coach's view of the play.

"I don't like to talk about referees, but tonight it was all them," Herron said. "The player pulled my jersey in the box, and if I weren't pulled there, I would have had a touch on the ball and probably would have scored."

Strikers honored

Four former original Strikers joined the celebration of "Legacy Night," honoring past Strikers stars. In attendance were former midfielder Ray Hudson, who made 197 appearances with the team from 1977 to 1983 and from 1988 to 1991. He was joined by Branko Segota, Arnie Mausser and Nico Bodonczy.

"It's just because of Tim Robbie this is happening," Hudson said of the Strikers' revival. "His links to the past are completely tied with us. He recognizes the past truly led to something. This is a great night out, and I hope for continued success, however the bumble bees don't quite flatter me as they did when I was 22."

Segota, who made 74 appearances for the Strikers from 1981 to 1983, was thrilled to see the Strikers playing again at Lockhart.

"It's very important, because South Florida needs a team here," Segota said. "I'm very happy to have the Strikers back because of what we did in the '70's and '80's."

Bodonczy played from 1977 to 1980, while Mausser had three stints with the team, the last from 1990 to 1992.